Seabird Working Group
We are a group of managers, researchers, conservationists, and educators working to help understand and protect populations of breeding and migratory seabirds that use the Caribbean.
The aims of our group are to:
- CONNECT PEOPLE: Bring together people working on, and interested in, Caribbean seabirds
- SHARE KNOWLEDGE: Share information about research, monitoring, management and conservation of seabirds in the Caribbean
- PROMOTE CONSERVATION: Seek new opportunities to expand conservation and research activities on Caribbean seabirds, and support those working towards this goal
- ADVOCATE FOR SEABIRDS: Respond to crises and threats that may impact Caribbean seabirds and their habitats
Contacts:
The Seabird Working Group is co-chaired by Ann Sutton (independent researcher), Rhiannon Austin (research associate at the University of Liverpool), and Yvan Satgé (independent researcher associated with Clemson University).
Please contact our committee co-chairs below if you would like further information on our activities, or are interested in getting involved:
Ann Sutton (asutton@cwjamaica.com) 
Ann has an undergraduate degree in Zoology from the University of Dundee, and a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of the West Indies, Mona. She has 35 years of experience working in wildlife conservation, protected areas management, conservation planning, wetlands, seabirds, monitoring, and education and outreach, with government, local and international NGOs, and in academia. She is the senior author of A photographic field guide to the birds of Jamaica published by A&C Black/Princeton University Press. Her first Society meeting was in St. Croix in 1988 as a member of the original Executive Committee. She has been Secretary to the Board of Directors since 2001. She has extensive experience in project development and management, including managing the recently completed NFWF seabirds project. Ann is co-chair of the Seabirds and Monitoring Working Groups. Ann is inspired by her deep commitment to implementing practical approaches to conserving Caribbean biodiversity and heritage.
Yvan Satgé (ysatge@clemson.edu) Yvan is an independent researcher associated with the South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Yvan’s research focuses on Black-capped Petrel, and he participates in the study of Brown Pelican, Red-billed Tropicbird, and Audubon’s Shearwater.
Rhiannon Austin (r.e.austin@liverpool.ac.uk) Rhiannon is a research associate at the University of Liverpool, UK, and manages seabird projects in the Caribbean UK Overseas Territories. Rhiannon is a conservation scientist and behavioural ecologist with interests in tropical seabird ecology. Her research focuses on understanding the causes and consequences of foraging and migration strategies in seabirds, and she works predominantly with frigatebirds, boobies, tropicbirds and shearwaters.
Jennifer Wheeler (jennifer.wheeler@birdscaribbean.org) 
Jennifer has a M.S in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology from the University of Maryland and professional experience in both private for-profit and non-profit environmental organizations as well as US federal government. She has been involved in waterbird and seabird conservation projects in the Caribbean since 2002, when she met Caribbean delegates to the North American Ornithological Congress in New Orleans. She attended her first Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds regional conference in 2003 and hasn’t missed one since. This is because she is inspired by the energy and passion that Caribbean conservationists bring to their work. She is particularly interested in seabird conservation, chairing the International Conservation Group for the Black-capped Petrel (an Endangered Species on the IUCN Red List) and supporting the Seabirds and Invasive Species (one of the key threats to seabirds worldwide) working groups. She is excited to see BirdsCaribbean continue to be a force for addressing seabird conservation issues important to the Caribbean region.
keep up-to-date
You can also get the latest updates on what we are working on by following our twitter feed @BirdsCaribbean, by joining our Facebook Group, by signing up to our groups.io discussion group, or by regularly checking our feature articles on the blogs page. If you haven’t done so already, please consider completing our short survey to tell us more about your past, present and future involvement with seabirds.